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A Technical Guide for Wine Producers
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A study of the impact of shipping/ transportation conditions and practices on wine
An informative and thorough literature study on this subject was done by Danie Meyer for Winetech and is available at:
Problem identification
Temperature extremes are a common experience for wine during transport, which in turn may have a detrimental effect on its quality. The shipping and/or transportation conditions and practices during the shipment of wine are thus critical factors.
Work plan
The information for the study was collected by conducting internet and library searches, extracting information from the local wine industry, shipping agencies and main suppliers of packaging material, as well as liaising with experts abroad.
Results and discussions
Transport and packaging configurations
Most of the relevant sources indicate that the impact of environmental conditions can be controlled by using temperature controlled containers (TCCs) and/or different types of insulation in standard containers.
In America about 23% of shipments are in temperature-controlled containers, whereas in South Africa research indicates that the figure may be as low as 2%.
Another option is to use porthole containers, which will become obsolete in Europe in 2003 and will be available to the South African wine industry.
In view of the cost and unavailability of refrigerated containers, the use of reusable insulation quilts is also an option.
It is also of the utmost importance that the wine, produced with so much care, is packaged in such a way that it is contained, protected and identifiable until it is consumed. For the purpose of distribution the following requirements of packaging are important:
Wine producers should therefore raise awareness among freight companies, distributors, wholesalers and retailers about the implications of the current shipping conditions, with the mutual goal of minimising exposure to heat and other damage by using appropriate packaging, insulated containers and appropriate storage facilities. Attention should also be given to shipping schedules and to the whole shipping process.
Exposure conditions
It is important to at least know the temperature fluctuations that wine is exposed to during shipments. Data loggers can be used very effectively for this purpose. Information for the time of year and the destinations can be accumulated and cost-effective solutions can be deployed.
Wine is frequently exposed to temperatures above 25°C and often for extended periods. Under the most extreme shipping conditions the wine would have been exposed to temperatures above 45°C, namely 47°C, 48°C, 50°C, 57°C and 87°C, which were recorded in containers during shipment and in Cape Town harbour. Such high temperatures will obviously have potential consequences for the sealing capabilities of the bottle closures in use and on the quality of the wine.
During winter shipments to cold destinations, insulated wine shipments can reach a low point of about -4°C, while wine not under an insulating quilt can drop to -15°C. Monitoring of these shipments shows clearly that wine can freeze or come close to freezing. This may contribute to physical effects similar to those during hot shipments, as well as to tartrate stability issues.
Monitoring of shipments in refrigerated containers indicated that temperatures never exceeded 18°C - 19°C.
The following figures [Reference: Stopak, Stefan Becker] show the stabilising effect of templiners during hot and cold shipments.
Impact of temperature fluctuations on wine
Exposure to high and low temperatures as well as temperature fluctuations can have such detrimental effects on wine that it is worthwhile to put preventative measures in place to ensure that the overall quality of the wine is retained.
Typical defects are the following:
Organoleptic defects
Chemical defects
Physical defects
Note 1
In the past it was often the practice to over-stabilise a wine against protein haze formation at undesirable elevated temperatures. This practice not only leads to a considerable problem with solid waste generation in the form of depleted bentonite, but also avoids any visual indication of an otherwise compromised wine quality from excessive heat exposure during shipment and storage. With a better knowledge of the shipping conditions the results presented might lead to a rethink of stabilisation practices.
Exposure to temperature extremes is more likely during trucking and staging, than during the ocean voyage itself.
Quality standards
Very strict standards apply to the wine-making process. When the wine leaves the hands of the winemaker, the rest of the process should therefore also be under control by enforcing the necessary standards.
In Canada very stringent standards were instituted, which have paid off adequately. All shipments received via land or ocean, arriving between November 15 and April 1, must be in temperature-controlled containers (TCCs). Furthermore, wines that sell at a price of more than $30 Canadian that arrive between June 15 and August 31 must be received in TCCs. This does not apply to spirits > 30% alc/vol. All "luxury" products of the Ontario Liquor Control Board must always be in TCCs, and this applies also to crŠme liquors, liqueurs and high-sugar liquors - all in TCCs, all year long.
The Board stipulates that the temperature of TCCs should be between 5°C and 10°C. All containers arriving by ocean must be kept below deck.
To avoid uncertainty, this is spelled out on each and every purchase order.
One of the most frequent chemical defects, the Ontario Liquor Control Board finds, is high ethyl carbamate, which in Canada is limited to 30 ppb in wines and 100 ppb in fortified wines. One of the reasons why the Ontario Liquor Control Board has a lower ethyl carbamate limit when testing pre-shipment products, which is 85% of the maximum allowable limit, is to allow for the shipping/ overheating factor. Products often have to be rejected at the pre-shipment stage because the ethyl carbamate levels are already close to the maximum limit.
The stringent shipping requirements set by the Ontario Liquor Control Board are a sign of things to come, and just one more reason why wineries need to ensure the door-to-door health of their wine shipments.
Although storage temperature is not a standard that can be enforced throughout the user chain, it is without doubt an aspect of wine marketing and transportation that should receive more attention, especially in warmer wine-producing and wineconsuming countries.
In order to produce wines with a bottle maturation bouquet and simultaneously preserve a degree of young wine bouquet, wines should be stored at constant temperatures lower than 20°C.
In order to assure vintner or shipper protection, samples of wine should be preserved at controlled temperatures for reference. Colour, free and total SO2 and clarity should be recorded. Documented sensory comments should be kept. Comparisons should be made with shipped samples if there is a suspicion of poor travel conditions.
According to experts from the wine industry, cork quality and applicable standards need urgent attention. Buying the most expensive cork is no guarantee for good quality cork. Cork plays a major role in preserving the quality of wine and standards for corks should be enforced.
As regards the difference in opinion on stacking configurations, the effect of these configurations should be known and standards should be developed.
In the Far East checks are performed on the following:
Acceptance criteria are agreed on with suppliers and batches of wine are rejected if wine does not conform.
Conclusions
The message is clear: if wine-makers do not take responsibility for their wine shipments from door to door, they are endangering the time, money and energy that go into growing and producing a quality wine. The wine industry must ensure that its packaging and transportation processes are such that the wine retains its quality. This can be achieved by strict adherence to approved transportation standards and practices. Packaging conditions and configurations should be optimised for the specific product, distribution method and environmental conditions.
Gross damage from freezing or overheating is not too frequent, but when a whole container is damaged, it causes a big problem and a huge loss. It is therefore important to protect wine against environmental conditions during shipping, especially during mid-summer or winter periods. Although costly, temperature controlled containers seem the most effective method to retain the quality of valuable wines when transporting them in adverse environmental conditions.
Not enough is known about the circumstances and conditions after bottling. A possible solution might be to use data loggers in the shipment of wine. If the use of data loggers could become general practice in the wine industry, the winemaker would have an instrument to measure the conditions to which the wine was exposed after bottling. If data loggers indicate extreme conditions, it should be an indication that sensory evaluations must be conducted on the wine.
Another silent problem is that although the wine may not have obvious damage, it may not be what it was hoped to be. Until consumers open a bottle and take a drink of the wine, they have not yet judged how well the winemakers have done their job. If the wine does not pass this test, the winemaker has failed.
Recommendations
The following is recommended:
Acknowledgements
I wish to thank the Winetech bottling, packaging and distribution committee under the chairmanship of Jan Cilliers for making this study possible. Many people, too many to mention here, assisted in the whole process. They appear in the contact list in the study report referenced below.
Reference
Meyer, D.C. et al, Technology Exploitation Centre (TEC). 2002. Final report: A study of the impact of shipping/transportation conditions and practices on wine; Doc No 1.3.1/ 702.0001.
Refer to the above reference, which is the property of the Winetech bottling, packaging and distribution committee, for a complete list of literature cited in this study.
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Danie Meyer, Project Manager, Technology Exploitation Centre (Pty) Ltd
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